Maintaining a design balance between nature and the necessities of life
Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the sun which is harnessed using a range of ever-evolving technologies such as solar heating, photovoltaics, solar thermal energy and even solar architecture. As an infinite source – at least in our time – of renewable energy, it is being used more and more in its capacity as either passive or active solar power. In this issue I am specifically focusing on a record-breaking attempt to fly around the world using only solar power (see next page). An increasing number of individuals and companies are harnessing the sun’s awesome strength, and this can only be of great benefit to us all.
The Benefits of Bamboo
The Madrid-based 3dWalldecor company uses the effect of 3D to enhance wallpapers and, as they are also thinking very much about reducing waste and protecting the planet, they use bamboo – that most versatile of grasses. Easy to apply and cost-effective, and providing a rapid transformation of your ambience and ecological materials, this is an extremely viable option for décor. www.3dwalldecor.es
Global Odyssey
Solar Impulse is attempting the historic feat of flying around the world only on solar energy. The aircraft has now completed eight legs, covering nearly half the journey, but setbacks are part of the challenges of a project that pushes technological boundaries to the limit. With unscheduled repairs being carried out due to overheating after the latest leg from Japan to Hawaii, Solar Impulse will now try to complete the first ever round-the-world solar flight in 2016, although this delay will in no way influence the overall objectives of this pioneering endeavour. Solar Impulse is a Swiss-developed, long-range, experimental, solar-powered aircraft project, and also the name of the project’s two operational aircraft. It is a privately financed project led by Swiss engineer and businessman Andre Borschberg and Swiss psychiatrist and aeronaut Bertrand Piccard, who co-piloted the Breitling Orbiter 3 – which was the first balloon to circle the world non-stop. The aim of the Solar Impulse project is to achieve the first circumnavigation of the Earth by a piloted fixed-wing aircraft using only solar power. The plane completed eight stages of the flight during the first half of 2015, starting in Dubai. It began the latest leg from Japan to Hawaii on 28 June, with Borschberg piloting, and it reached Hawaii on 3 July, setting new records for the world’s longest solar-powered flight both for time (117 hours, 52 minutes) and distance (7,212 kilometres / 4,481 miles). The duration was also a record for the longest solo flight, by time, for any aircraft. This pacesetting initiative also draws attention to many other new and ground-breaking projects involving solar power. We already have it cutting down electricity bills in homes and commercial buildings, as well as being used in cars, although there is still a long way to go to make them easily accessible in price. As the sun is there – hanging in the sky, benevolent or not so benevolent depending on which country you find yourself in – it is ridiculous to not utilise its power. www.solarimpulse.com
